This is the 2019 run on a super wet day. Rain just let up a minute ago. It's a comin' back!…read more I almost didn't come, but decided I'd could always back out if Mother Nature proved too playful with the category 2 storm today. A small but enthusiastic crowd is here today. I think I'm one of the most heavily clothed participant here. I come from a family that fully believes in layers. We are like onions in that respect. The layers of shirts and sweaters are unending.

i had heard of this event in the past, and even coached a friend for the 5k, but never had a chance…read moreto participate myself since i always had a conflicting race or training run on super bowl sunday. i cleared my schedule this year since i had heard good things about this race and wanted to run this portion of the lower guadalupe river trail. for this particular event, there was a choice of 2 distances: 1. 10k (6.2 miles) 2. 5k (3.1 miles) i signed up for the 10k so that i could burn more calories, since i knew that i'd be pigging out at a super bowl party later that afternoon! the pros: -REASONABLE race fees, $40 for the 5k and $45 for the 10k if you register during the early bird period -takes place at ARENA GREEN, just outside downtown san jose, next to the lower guadalupe river trailhead and just off highway 87. -CLEAR MILE MARKERS for both both 5k & 10k, as well as marker & volunteer at the respective turnaround points (to ensure you don't run further than you signed up for!) -ACCURATELY MEASURED DISTANCE, as my garmin read 6.22 miles immediately after crossing the finish line which is pretty much spot on with the official 10k race distance of 6.2 miles. -FRIENDLY VOLUNTEERS assisting at the registration/information booths, handing out water at aid stations along the course, and handing out snacks at the refreshments' tables post-race. -FREE and EASY PARKING in multiple parking areas, all within a 1/2 mile from the start/finish area. i actually got lucky and found street parking a block from the start! -PORTA-POTTIES at the start/finish area, along with portable hand washing stations with soap, water and paper towels. -COMPLIMENTARY BAG CHECK at the finish area with volunteers to guard your bags until after the race -VERY FAMILY FRIENDLY, perfect for families, small children, and strollers what you get: *choice of PACKET PICKUP @ the guadalupe river park conservancy, wednesday-friday prior to the race, or on site pick up the morning of. *green, technical FINISHER'S SHIRT *several AID STATIONS with volunteers handing out cups of water *POST-RACE FOOD & DRINKS, including tortilla chips, guacamole, clementines and water *custom FINISHER MEDAL for each participant *official RESULTS posted online the afternoon following the race *RACE PHOTOS posted online within 48 hrs of the race bonuses for top finishers: *customized guadalupe conservancy beer glasses for the top 3 men and top 3 women in each age group for both distances. since i was 2nd in my age group, i got to take home one of these beer glasses and partake in the post-race awards ceremony. the cons: -both 5k & 10k courses were out and back, and had a slight uphill on the return trip as well as strong headwind. not the race organizer's fault, but this definitely made for a tougher finish (and difficulty in negative-splitting) for all runners. -this course was not very scenic since we ran next to san jose airport for most of the race. only a small portion was in the guadalupe river park, but there wasn't anything interesting to see. -i ran the 10k, and was one of the earliest finishers, but by the time i got to the refreshments' table, they had run out of tortilla chips! tons of guacamole left, but no tortilla chips!?!?! -wish they had more carbs available, maybe bagels or muffins or granola bars, since those who ran the 10k would need a bit more sustenance after a longer effort. thank you, to on your mark events, for putting on this terrific event, and to the guadalupe river park conservancy for being the title sponsor!

I only signed up for this race so that I can officially say I completed the Run the Bay Challenge…read moreseries. I ran the 408k (8k) in March and now the 415k (5k). The last in series is the 510k (10k) in October. Coming from the south bay, I needed to get to the race earlier for bib pick up since the pick up day locations were both in the north bay. No problem, I'm used to that. However, the pick up on race day was not too organized as our bibs didn't have our names printed already and they were scrambling to locate additional bibs for the runners. Parking was not too bad. They had provided a map of lots garages that offered free parking so it pays to get there earlier. If not, I was able to find parking nearby on the streets. There is only one start time so you need to arrive here on time. I believe there was over 1100 runners that day. I've ran many 5ks in the past and I can honestly say that this one was one of the more difficult ones due to the hills. I wasn't prepared for that and didn't realize the amount of uphill running I would be doing... even if the hills were gradual, unlime crazy SF hills. The first mile was almost all up hill. Thankfully, the last third of the race was downhill so you could make up your time. Mile two was both up and down. There was only one water stop from what I can remember. Volunteers were spread out directing runners where to go. It was a pretty uneventful run since there wasn't much to see or listen to in the entertainment department. You do receive your medal once you cross the finish line and results are listed online quickly. As for post race goodies, there were a handful of vendors and food. You are given Hint flavored water since they sponsored the event as well as pop chips, bagels, and bananas. Two down, one more to go. See everyone next at the "Let's go 510k" this fall.

1st time to do this race and I really enjoyed it. Great organization at the beginning and ending…read more The only part that needs improvement is the t-shirts. Upon picking up the bibs, we were not given a t-shirt. The race, there's a 5K and a 5 mile. Of course at the finish, the 5K runners got first dibs on t-shirts. I did the 5 mile and was able to get my t-shirt, but my friend wasn't able to get her t-shirt size, they ran out. She was pissed. I recommend either 2 things to avoid having upset or angry runners. 1- give the t-shirt on the day they pick up their bib 2 - have 2 different t-shirts, one for 5K runners and one for 5 mile runners. These shirts should be given at the finish in exchnage for a bottom section of the bib. This will ensure runners receive the correct shirt, correct size, and only One. Just a thought......

This is the 2nd year that I've ran the San Jose Giants Race. I ran in 2012 and 2013, both 5 mile…read morerace. I plan to run this race again in coming years. Overall, I like this race route and the race is well organized. The last quarter mile is running into the San Jose Giants stadium. At the end of the race, you get your race dri-fit shirt and race medal, plus the usual post-run snacks and drinks. Exiting the stadium there was a line to take a picture with the 2010 and 2012 San Francisco Giants World Series trophies. A++

WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. a fun, festive race to kickstart ur holiday szn. love that it's not as packed…read moreas the thanksgiving turkey trot. ROUTE IS OUT AND BACK, two lil road hills but mostly flat. u get a view of downtown sj and then it ends with christmas in the park. i'm doing this every year no doubt. U GET FINISHER MEDAL AND TOP 3 gets a placers medal. make sure to place urself in the front at the beginning bc race can go out slow. lots of snack, drink, advertising booths at the end. goods, stickers, sunglasses.

My son won the Santa Run race today After Came in 2nd in…read morethe Turkey Trot three weeks ago! Congratulations my son. You are a true champion today! Train hard. Win easy! Run ‍ https://youtu.be/w9vuc-VGM08 On the news!

You're from Orange County, Craig. Isn't a 6-hour drive to San Jose a little much to simply run a…read more5-mile or 5K? Yes, it is. And it isn't, for many reasons... First, if you're a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan, there'd be no question: you'd be there, just as many, many others were, dressed proudly in orange and ready to run. (The San Jose Giants, by the way, are the San Francisco Giants' farm team.) Registering for San Jose's Great Race, now in its 4th year, you'd not only receive free tickets for the SJ Giants' evening game, you'd not only collect a custom SFG World Champions replica ring, but you'd also be able to take your picture with SFG's 2010, 2012, and 2014 World Champions Trophies! So that's a pretty cool reason to run. Second, by running both San Jose's and San Francisco's Giant Races (any distance), you'll be handed the "Turn Two Award": a Runner's Armband/Phone Case, the San Jose Giants logo and San Francisco Giants 2014 World Champions logo on the side. And third, there's the 2015 Three Bagger Award! I want this! You must finish both San Jose and San Francisco, and your third race is your choice: the 2016 Scottsdale Giant Race (SFG's spring training camp in Arizona), or Sacramento Training Run on 7/12/15. I'll be traveling to Arizona! Then the Three Bagger will be mine: a super sparkly mega medal commemorating not only the three Giant Races, but also the three-time World Champions on the field. No, I'm not a huge Giants fan. But my pops is, and so are my nephews. (I guess that makes me a fan by association.) Nevertheless, I am a medals fan, and I love running. So to answer your question, whether or not driving six hours out of my way is a bit excessive... Well, I got another sweet medal, didn't I? =]

This year was a bit disappointing. I've completed all 5 years and they've been pretty organized…read moreuntil this year. I did the 5 mile and the organizers didn't seem to care about a large group who finished around the 1:20 mark. We had to ask cops which way to go as there were no guides for the last mile, NO medals and nobody was handing out water. Apparently they only cared about the 5K folks and anyone who finished in 15 min. Turns out, after about 10 min of standing around, a box of medals was left in SF. Just disappointing. The shirts are another thing. Why bother asking for our size, only to run out? The race was also short by .3 or .4 of a mile. I remember last year the route was a true 5 miles. Not this year.

This is my review on my run!…read more Hmm...driving to pick up my bid and packet the day before the event was useless. WHatda waste of gas! Next year, if I do the race, I will just pick up my packet the day of. There was practically no one picking up their packet the day of. Just be there about 15 minutes early, and you will save yourself the drive to pick up the bid. Yea, no water stations or mile marker. I like how the run took place in Great America for the first .75 miles, but I thought the entire run should've take place in GA. We ran the 2.25 miles around the parking lot. That part was definitely not fun! =( At the end of the race, they passed out medal and water bottle. Bagels, and banana, fruit snacks, and oranges were served. Not too bad! $25 (family pack) goes directly to charity and they feed you, give you a medal, freebies (playing cards, and pens/pencil), water bottles (which they sell at great America for $4), a shirt, free parking, and a ticket to go into GA to bond with your friends and family. Can't ask for more=)

This is the first time I've done a run at Great America. Though it was fun to run inside the park,…read moreonce we got outside it was rather quite boring as all we were doing was running in the parking lot. Two thirds of the run was in the parking lot and it was easy to cut the corners in the parking lot, so in the end the distance didn't even end up being close to 3.1 miles. They only had one mile marker at mile one, and it was at least 1/3 mile off, and there were no water stations. Packet pick-up was the day before at one end of the Key Point Credit Union. There was only one sign to direct people to where that location is. My friend picked up his packet in the morning shorty after 9am, and he said they were completely disorganized. They were still stuffing the bags when he got there. By the time I got there they had gotten their act together. Unfortunately the only "goodies" I got in my bag were just flyers, which I ended up throwing in the recycling bin. The only thing worth keeping was the 10% off sports basement coupon. I did like that entrance into Great America was included in our registration as well as free parking before 7:30am. We got a finisher's medal after crossing the finish line. They gave us a bottle of water at the end of the run, but it wasn't even cold. There was slices of oranges, bananas and bagels available for us at the end, but no napkins. This is only the second year Mission City has done this run, so hopefully it will get better as the years go on.

Perfectly fine local run…read more Positives: -Nice size race, not too much crowding at the start. -Lots of porta-potties, which is an underappreciated feature--long lines before a race are so irritating. -Nice t-shirt -Good announcers -Easy to get to for us South Bay types -Convenient packet pick up at Running Revolution so you can also get your gels and any last second stuff like new socks -Nice medals for a local race--above expectations. -I like the finish on the track at LGHS Negatives: -The race route is not completely closed off, you share the trails with walkers and bikes etc. but that's not too bad (unless you are running for a PR in which case you may be irritated). -The course is net downhill for the first half and net uphill the second half--not too much, but enough to be notice. Argh!

i first ran this race 3 years ago and very much enjoyed the event, but was not able to participate…read morethe past 2 years. fortunately, my schedule allowed me to return to los gatos and participate in this event this year. for this event, participants had 2 events to choose from: half marathon (13.1 miles) 10k (6.2 miles) i chose the half since it was the distance i ran 3 years ago and i'd hoped to better my time this year! i guess 3 is my lucky number, b/c i beat my time by 3 minutes! the pros: +GREAT RACE DAY conditions, about 59 & cloudy at the start which was awesome for july (sun did not come out until about 1 1/2 hours into the race) +MEDIUM-SIZED event with 1000 or so total participants, most of whom were local runners +BIB AND PACKET pickup party 2 days before the race at running revolution in campbell and on the eve of the race at athletic performance in los gatos, both of which are near the event site. if you couldn't make either one, you could pickup your packet the morning of near the start line. +at least 3 different areas with PORTA-POTTIES near the start line, along with portable soap and water dispensers. lines weren't too bad pre-race. +FREE PARKING at los gatos high school, either by the track (right next to the start line) or at the front of the school (just a couple blocks away) +AWESOME PACERS! i saw signs ranging from 1:30 to 2:15 and know that these volunteers gave their time and efforts to helping many of us achieve our goals for this race. i want to especially thank my pacer, linh, who paced the 1:50 group for keeping us entertained and motivated throughout the entire course, especially the last stretch going up the hill! +SCENIC COURSE from mile 5 to the end along los gatos creek trail and heading up to the lexington reservoir area, decent amount of shade while on course! +CLEAR MILE MARKER signage at every mile, except for 13 since it was the final turn before the finish line +VARIETY OF POST-RACE REFRESHMENTS, which included bagels, cream cheese, bananas, plums, nectarines, and strawberries. they also had snow cones this year, which was a nice bonus since it was very warm after the race! -LOTS OF FRIENDLY VOLUNTEERS assisting with bib pickup and registration pre-race, manning the aid stations on the course, directing traffic (especially on some potentially confusing turns) and handing out medals and bottled water at the finish line -$50 for half marathon if you did early bird registration, $65 if registering closer to the event date. very reasonable considering what you get in return. -UNIQUE JUNGLE RUN FINISHER'S MEDAL with a tiger on it! -DRI-FIT SHIRT with a big colourful tiger on the back (matched the medal this year!) i especially appreciated the fact that they had both women's cut and men's cut tshirts this year. -JUNGLE-THEMED TOP FINISHER PRIZES. while i didn't place at this event, i did get to see some of the awards ceremony and the unique "jungle-themed" awards that were presented to the top finishers, including a totem-pole-like plaque and small tiger statue. the cons: -not really an ideal "pr" course since this course has many rolling hills, is net downhill for the first half, and net uphill for the second half, with a steady incline from miles 10-11.5 (when legs are very tired) -first part of the half marathon (up to mile 5) was a bit boring since we ran along residential streets -while mile markers were present at every mile, i found that most of them were a bit short of the actual distance, esp since my garmin signaled each mile completion after i passed the official race markers. i also got 13.04 miles at the end, which falls slightly short of the true half marathon distance of 13.11 miles. overall, a very well-organized local event and a great excuse for visiting los gatos, one of the nicer towns in the bay area that i rarely visit since it's a bit of a trek for me. i hope to be back next year for this event and attempt to beat my time again!

Despite the pain from running the half marathon without proper conditioning, I still consider it a…read morefantastic race experience! The course was incredibly well-marked. There were cones, signs, and flag-waving volunteers at every turning point, so it was practically impossible to make a wrong turn or go the wrong way. There were also signs and volunteers letting you know which route to take before you hit the turning point. Mile markers were also spread throughout the course. The course itself was mostly flat with some small hills, but nothing horrible. You follow the Coyote Creek Trail that was a mostly peaceful route through lots of trees, around a lake, and alongside barren hills. Be sure to put on sunscreen because not all of the trail is shaded the San Jose's heat will be beating down on you later in the morning. Aid stations didn't include snacks, only water and electrolytes. One aid station did offer some gels though. Bring your own snacks if you think you'll need extra fuel during your run. The volunteers were what made this a truly fantastic experience. They were energetic and encouraging, and they were loud and clear with directions. Some were even equipped with microphones at trickier turning points, making it easy and clear about where to run. Most of them were high school students, and I was so impressed with their spirit and enthusiasm, even if they were standing alone. There were even high school students stationed throughout the course not at turning points, but just standing there to cheer, and they did such a fantastic job at it. Race swag was nice. I like the blue drawstring bag, and the black tech tee is one of the better designed race shirts I've seen. The medal was one of the biggest out of the 15 I've gotten, if not the biggest. Snacks at the end were just bagels, Lara Bars, bananas, and small oranges. Various sponsor booths offered small giveaways like Nestle chocolate milk bottles, protein bars, trail mix packets, and discounts from sports equipment stores. My only complaint was that I wish they offered packet pick-up on race day. The race emails and website explicitly stated we had to get our packets on the pick-up days with no mailing option, so I had to go into San Jose the day before to pick up then book a hotel for a night. The overnight trip was a fun one, but I still would have enjoyed saving that money instead, especially after paying the half marathon race entry. I wish it were closer to San Francisco where I live, but I would totally do this race again next time!

I know I've been ignoring my Yelp responsibilities lately, but I just ran the race this past…read moreweekend and it inspired me to get off my butt and start writing. I ran the half marathon and really have no complaints about the pre-race organization and/or instructions. All necessary information was emailed out with plenty of time to plan. The half marathon had a 7AM projected start, with the gun sounding right on time. If I had ONE complaint pre-race, it was the course map. It was a little unclear as to where the South turn around was, so I had to take a "wait and see" approach to the race - not always the most comforting thing. Definitely a small race, from the results page, they accounted for 240 finishers. Considering this is a trail run, that's a good thing. And after all these large races of 20, 30, and 40,000+ runners, its nice to jump into some of these small local runs. The course itself starts at the Silver Creek Sports Complex, heads out to Silver Creek Valley Road (Blossom Hill), then on to Coyote Creek trail headed North. Loop around the lake at Heller Park, head South to (the Northern edge of) Metcalf Park, then back up the trail to the Sports Complex. Pretty simple as long as trial guides are in place, but its very easy to see how people could get confused on this course. Volunteers play a HUGE role here, so thanks to all of those that helped out! Oh, and seeing Stomper (Oakland A's mascot) and doing the "Bernie Lean" with him at mile 2 made my day!!!! For me, this is my "home trail" - this is where I train. You'll find me here 2-3 days per week, so for that reason, this became a personal run for me. It was a beautiful thing to be running the trail as the sun rose above the horizon. And I had never seen the lake at Hellyer Park look so beautiful. As I looped around the lake looking back at the sun just peeking over the mountains, the steam from the lake was visible as it rose into the crisp morning air. That vision, I'll carry with me for a while. Opening weekend for football, I was home, cleaned up, and plopped on the couch before the 10AM game kick off. Seriously, the best Sunday I've had in a long time.